49–010 

Calendar No. 307 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 109–188 

NEWLANDS PROJECT HEADQUARTERS AND 

MAINTENANCE YARD FACILITY TRANSFER ACT 

DECEMBER 8, 2005.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of November 18, 2005 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 310] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 310) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

convey the Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard 

Facility to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District in the State of 

Nevada, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 

without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF MEASURE

The purpose of S. 310 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to convey the Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance 

Yard Facility to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District in the State 

of Nevada. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Newlands Project, one of the first Bureau of Reclamation 

(Bureau or Reclamation) projects in the West, provides water for 

approximately 73,000 irrigated acres near Fallon, Nevada. The 

Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) operates and maintains 

the project, which is considered a ‘‘paid out project’’ under Reclamation law. 

TCID currently leases 40 acres of land from the Bureau for office 

headquarters, as well as for an operation and maintenance yard. 

TCID seeks title to 35.6 acres of this land in order to make permanent improvements. The transfer will allow TCID to obtain the necVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:24 Dec 10, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR188.XXX SR188
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essary financing for such improvements, which includes the construction of a new office building. The remaining 4.4 acres of land 

will be retained by the Bureau for its Fallon office. 

TCID is the only irrigation district in the Newlands Project and 

has operated and maintained the Project since 1926. In 1975, TCID 

relocated approximately four miles away to its current site, now 

proposed for transfer. This move allowed all of the District’s central 

operations to be located on a single tract and is close to the irrigation works. The land at issue was not considered to be suitable for 

irrigation or crop production and was therefore never homesteaded 

or patented. 

In 1996, TCID fully repaid the Project construction costs. The 

completed repayment included TCID’s original headquarters and 

maintenance yard, now known as the Fallon Freight Yard. Notwithstanding TCID’s repayment, title to the Fallon Freight Yard 

was never transferred from the United States to TCID. Since 1996, 

the Bureau has leased the Fallon Freight Yard to the city of Fallon. 

The lease payments, which, as of October 30, 2005, total approximately $91,308, are held in a fund in the Treasury for the 

Newlands Project. The pending sale of the Fallon Freight Yard to 

the City of Fallon (pursuant to P.L. 107–339) will add another 

$115,000 to the account. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 310 was introduced by Senators Ensign and Reid on February 

8, 2005, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 

310 on April 19, 2005 (S. Hrg. 109–96). At the business meeting 

on November 16, 2005, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 310 favorably reported without amendment. 

During the 108th Congress, Representative Gibbons introduced a 

similar measure, H.R. 2831, in the House of Representatives. H.R. 

2831 passed the House on July 19, 2004, but was not considered 

in the Senate. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on November 16, 2005, by unanimous voice 

vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 310. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 sets forth the short title. 

Section 2 defines the terms used in the Act. 

Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey the 

Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility located in Fallon, Nevada to the TCID as soon as practicable and in 

accordance with an Agreement between TCID and Reclamation and 

any applicable laws. 

Subsection (b) provides that amounts received by the United 

States for the lease or sale of Newlands Project land comprising the 

Fallon Freight Yard shall be treated as consideration for the real 

property conveyed. Utilizing the Fallon Freight Yard proceeds as 

consideration for the conveyance required by this legislation is apVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:24 Dec 10, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR188.XXX SR188
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propriate under its unique circumstances, and is not in any way 

precedent-setting. 

As explained in the Background and Need section, TCID completed its repayment obligation to the Federal Government for the 

Newlands Project, including its original office headquarters and operation and maintenance yard now known as the Fallon Freight 

Yard. Applying the anticipated $206,308 from the Newlands Project 

Treasury fund for the lease or sale of the Fallon Freight Yard is 

appropriate and will keep the Federal Government whole. This 

amount compares favorably to the value of the property to be 

transferred pursuant to this Act. In August 2005, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service sold a 48.14 acre parcel of farm land, minus the 

water rights, to Churchill County for $164,000. That land is located 

about one-half mile east of the parcel TCID is requesting to be 

transferred. At approximately $3,400 per acre, the property to be 

conveyed here is less than the amount being credited 

Subsection (c) directs the Secretary of the Interior to submit a report to Congress if the conveyance has not been completed within 

one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Subsection (d) provides that the transfer cannot occur until compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 has 

been achieved and any necessary environmental site assessment, 

remediation, or removal has been completed. 

Subsection (e) holds the United States harmless from any damages arising from TCID actions, or those of its employees or contractors, with respect to the property at issue. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

DECEMBER 8, 2005. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 310, the Newlands Project 

Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility Transfer Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Rachel Milberg. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN. Director. 

Enclosure. 

S. 310—Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility Transfer Act 

S. 310 would convey all rights, title, and interest of the United 

States in approximately 37 acres of land to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District in Nevada. Under the bill, the government would 

receive no financial payments as consideration for the conveyance; 

the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) has no current appraisal of the 

land’s fair market value. 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 310 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. According to BOR, the federal 

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land to be conveyed currently generates no significant receipts and 

is not expected to do so over the next 10 years. Hence, we estimate 

that conveying that land would not affect offsetting receipts (a 

credit against direct spending). Enacting S. 310 would not affect 

revenues. 

S. 310 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Accepting the 

land conveyance authorized by this bill would be voluntary on the 

part of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. Any costs they 

might incur to comply with the conditions of the conveyance would 

be incurred voluntarily. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Rachel Milberg. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 310. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant responsibilities on 

private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 310. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 

Subcommittee hearing on S. 310 follows: 

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM RINNE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF

RECLAMATION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Madam Chairman, and members of the Committee, I am 

William Rinne, Deputy Commissioner of Reclamation. I am 

pleased to appear before this Subcommittee to provide the 

Administration’s views on S. 310. 

S. 310 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

convey the Newlands Project Headquarters and maintenance yard facility to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. The facilities cover about 37 acres of Reclamation 

withdrawn property in Fallon, Nevada. 

Mr. Chairman, over the past couple years, we have been 

working very closely with the District to resolve each of 

the issues on the title transfer of the headquarters property. In June 2003, Reclamation and the President of the 

District’s Board of Director’s signed an extensive Memorandum of Agreement governing the proposed title transfer. Reclamation actively supports transferring title to 

state and local entities when in the mutual interest of affected parties. Based on this coordination, the AdministraVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:24 Dec 10, 2005 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6969 E:\HR\OC\SR188.XXX SR188
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tion supports the concept of transferring the title for the 

property to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. 

However, we are concerned that S. 310 directs that the 

proceeds received by the United States for the lease and 

sale of Fallon Freight Yard, the transfer of which was authorized in P.L. 107–339, be treated as full payment for 

the 37 acres. Under this language, the District will not be 

required to pay anything for the property. Under Reclamation law and policy, the proceeds from the sale of acquired 

lands and lease revenues such as those from Fallon 

Freight yard are to be treated as a tail-end credit to the 

applicable project. In this case, the Newlands Project, not 

the District, our Contractor who operates and maintains 

the Project on behalf of the United States, should receive 

the credit. The lands associated with the headquarters 

property that is proposed to be transferred under S. 310 

are withdrawn lands and thus the District has not repaid 

their value. If enacted as is, we are concerned the bill 

could set a precedent that would allow the District and 

other irrigation districts to make additional claims on 

lease or eventual sale revenues from Reclamation acquired 

lands. 

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to 

compliment District Board President Ernest Schank and 

the District’s Board of Directors for their diligence and 

commitment in working with us on the issues surrounding 

this transfer. I also commend Senator Ensign for his leadership. 

That concludes my statement. I would be happy to answer any questions. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 310, as ordered reported. 

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